


The Little Gay Mermaid

by mseha_1_9



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Fluff, I live for lovestruck!Levi, M/M, Mermaid!Levi, eren tries to be cool and drowns, gay mermaids, i spent too long editing ive read it too many times, levi tries to be a good uncle and fails, lovestruck!Levi, merMAN tyvm levi takes offense to the previous tag, mermaid!au, not explicit yet but will be, socially inept!Levi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-07-26
Updated: 2014-11-25
Packaged: 2018-02-10 13:01:54
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 11,151
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2026056
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mseha_1_9/pseuds/mseha_1_9
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Levi invites his newly discovered niece to his beach house and gets two more unwanted guests.</p><p>// PROBABLY WONT EVER BE FINISHED</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. JEDAN

Levi had already known that Hanji did not understand things like “personal space” and “silence” and “calming the fuck down.” Yet, here he found himself stuck far from the city with the witch as he tried to drink his usual morning tea. This was all his fault, because something had possessed him to invite his niece to his beach house. _His_ beach house, where Levi came often as an escape from work to be a merman in peace.

          Sure, it was sort of a good idea since he hadn't even known that he had a niece until a week ago. He had thought that maybe he could be a good uncle. Maybe it would be a good bonding opportunity. Unfortunately, his niece didn't seem like she had actually wanted to come and Levi didn't understand what she had expected. She remained as stoic and emotionless as him so far. It was probably a hereditary thing.

          But he should have expected that Hanji would jump on the opportunity to tag along, since this was his first time letting someone else come along. It was his own fault that he was forced to listen to Hanji blab on about god knows what, too excited at nine am, as he tried to enjoy his saturday morning tea.

          He also should have expected that his niece would have brought her brother. Who technically wasn't even related to Levi, since she had been adopted after the death of her parents. Levi had been mad at himself when he realized she had been put up for adoption because they couldn't contact him. Even if he wouldn't have been able to raise a child, he felt the guilt for abandoning her. _That_ was probably what had compelled him to invite a nineteen year old to _his_ beach house.

          “Are the kids still asleep?” Levi asked Hanji, refused to admit to himself that he was asking because he was worried about them. He had also refused to listen to Hanji's argument that he was only a decade older, and couldn't call them “kids”. Sometimes he felt so old that he felt like he deserved the right to act like he was fifty.

          Levi was no longer looking at her, but in the silence after his question he assumed Hanji was rolling her eyes.

          “Mikasa is, but Eren headed out to the beach with a surfboard before you woke up,” Hanji explained, gesturing to the window.

          “To go surfing?”

          “Duh.”

          “Are you sure he even knows how? Didn't Mikasa say they grew up in Toronto without a lot of money?” Levi asked, worry welling up in him. Wouldn't it be great if his plan to make up his absence to his niece turned into her brother drowning.

          When Hanji's expression turned worried, Levi quickly sprung up from his seat (mourning his hot tea) and ran out to the porch with Hanji following behind him. They both sighed in relief when they saw a messy mop of brown hair on a surfboard - easy to spot since he was currently the only one there. Levi let all the tension he had built up leave, leaning forwards against the railing and enjoying the view. So the brat wasn't _that_ stupid.

          Levi liked to believe what happened next was some sort of divine punishment for being a crabby short piece of shit. Because exactly after he and Hanji relaxed they watched as Eren crashed into the water.

          A couple seconds passed. They didn't worry. It was probably normal, he'd come up soon.

          Two more and Levi felt all the tension come back.

          Five more seconds of no movement before Levi was ripping the door to the porch door open and running downstairs, slamming the backdoor behind him and sprinting down the dirt pathway to the beach. _Fuck this stupid shitty brat and his inability to use his dumb head._ Now he's drowning and Levi has to save him. Even after swearing to himself that he would not touch the water, not risk anything. To appear normal.

          But here he was, ripping off all his clothing (to avoid it getting stuck in a transformation) before running into the water. He dove underwater as soon as possible to ensure that Hanji did not see anything. Hell, if she found out Levi would probably find himself part of some lab experiment for the rest of his life.

          He was risking his future for this stupid brat because of his niece and Levi was honestly surprised by himself. After his childhood, he had dismissed family – said it was stupid, to be bound to a group of people just because they were related. And now here he was, saving someone because of their connection to his... family? Did he even have one anymore?

          Fuck, who cares. All that Levi needed to focus on now was not letting his forming tail hinder his speed, as he kept pushing despite the pain. It didn't take long before he reached Eren's abandoned board floating at the top of the ocean. After that, it was easy to find the idiot near the bottom who wasn't moving.

          Levi dove back down and grabbed him by the middle, having no problems thrusting them upwards now that his tail had finished developing. As they got closer to the surface, Levi readjusted to hold Eren up by his armpits to stabilize both of them.

          The moment Eren's head was above water, the brat was spitting out water - filthy water - that got all over Levi's face. Water that Levi didn't care about because all that mattered was that he was _breathing._

          He let out a long sigh of relief, celebrating his success in not letting him die, before it hit him.

          Levi was in the sea. He could feel his gills on his neck twitching uncomfortably because they were above water. He could feel his tail waving back and forth to keep them both above water. He had limited time to devise some plan to get the kid to safety, dry off and get home dressed without anyone noticing.

          Any plan went out the window when Eren's eyes flickered open. He watched in silence and well practised nonchalance as he watched Eren blink a couple times to get the salt water out his eyes. He seemed to be having problems focusing on Levi's face. Then he felt Eren's foot jolt in surprise and kick him harshly in his tail.

          Levi winced at the hit, his expression darkening slightly.

          One thing was clear – Eren did not notice his expression, and if he did he did not care. He was too busy looking mind blown and utterly confused. His eyes were wider than usual as he stared, and Levi didn't realize until then that Eren was looking at the gills on the side of his neck in shock. He didn't realize because he was hypnotize by how big and green and blue his eyes were. Levi was sure he was looking at the ocean and drowning in it. He had seen his eyes before (of course), but they seemed completely different now. He didn't know if it was because of the ocean surrounding them, his current fish state that loved it or how wide they were. Maybe it was all of the above.

          It wasn't until he felt a hesitant foot slide against his tail that he was jolted out of the trance. He surprised Eren, who flinched back, but didn't say anything as he stared at Levi with his big doe eyes.

          “Listen here, kid,” Levi threatened while forming a plan in his head. He watched Eren's expression flicker to fear for a second, and Levi felt a pang of guilt. Great, he was getting soft. “Calm down. It's quite simple – I saved your life. You owe me by not telling anyone. Deal?”

          “Deal!” Eren agreed, his voice slightly too loud and sudden. Levi jolted again, his glare darkening even more. Still, the kid continued to ignore his death stare and kept meeting Levi's gaze, looking at his gills, looking down into the sea and repeating.

          Great, part of the problem was solved. But he still needed to get the fuck out the water and avoid having someone else noticed. Levi sighed, realizing he had little to no chance of avoiding Hanji without help. “If you help me get out and dry without anyone seeing, I'll let you see my tail later,” He bargained, expecting the curious brat would be satisfied with that due to the curiosity in his eyes. 

          “Only if I can touch your..." Eren started off confident but lost it when he realized what he was saying, "...tail." He was honestly a bit scared by whatever Levi was (and completely shocked) yet it didn't stop his need to find out more. His curiosity was burning at him.

          Levi was honestly shocked by the response, although he didn't show it. He was not expecting that, he was expecting that the shitty brat would just accept what Levi offered. He frowned, his glare darkening but Eren did not back down. He didn't even seem affected by it, which only further angered Levi because only Hanji had the ability of ignoring his death glare. She had known him for too long to survive without said power.

          “Fine,” Levi surrendered. Great, a human with dirty hands would touch his tail soon. He was sure Eren didn't know the meaning behind his request in the merworld, and he didn't feel like explaining to him _“only family, close friends and lovers.”_ He didn't care about it much himself – he was more disgusted about letting the boy's hands touch his beautiful tail. But now all he cared about was getting out before Hanji came down to see what was going on because he was sure she was still watching.

          Eren nodded, looking determined as he came up with a plan. He'd freak out later (oh would he) but he pushed away his feelings for the time being. “Let's get out of the water in a hidden area. I'll go get your clothes, and we can use your shirt or something to dry you off,” he came up with, gesturing towards a part of the beach where trees were plentiful and would probably block the view from the house.

          “Hanji's up there watching every move. She'll know something's up.”

          “We'll come up with an excuse later!” Eren insisted, not really caring. He had already started swimming towards the shore.

          Levi sighed for the millionth time that day, unsure if he should trust the enthusiastic boy who he had barely spoken to before now. He had hid behind his sister, just watching them and barely moving. He seemed afraid of Hanji, but Levi didn't blame him because she was crazy. He also hadn't seemed at ease when he met Levi, although he had made a joke about “seeing the family resemblance.” Cheeky little brat.

          Still, he caught up to Eren and swam at the same slow (to him, at least) speed. They still didn't take long to arrive, and Levi grunted in complaint when he had to start dragging himself out of the water by his hands. He cringed at the uncomfortable feeling of dry, scratchy sand that was coating him.

          Eren hesitated, as if he was going to help, but a pointed glare from Levi quickly dismissed any of his stupid ideas. He was also staring at his tail so intently that it made Levi feel like he was being perved on. Levi knew that his tail was beautiful - scales his colour were rare. They were varying shades from white to black. Most were a middle grey, but there were little hints of darker and lighter all over. The water on them shone in the sunlight, and his tail was always sparkly since they only existed when water was on them.

          “Go get my clothes,” Levi snapped, his bad mood getting even worse. He had gone twenty nine years of his life and more than a decade living with humans and never being caught. But now he had to deal with a _child_ who knew.

          Eren obeyed and nodded before running over to Levi's abandoned clothes. He grabbed them, saw Hanji and waved, before quickly running back. He wanted to see Levi's tail properly, not covered by water or sand, and touch it. His curiosity was killing him (what did the scales feel like?) and he didn't know how long he could wait. But he had to finish his end of the deal.

          He handed Levi his clothing when he got back and turned around to give him some space. He didn't want to push too much into Levi's personal space because he already new he was on the edge of getting a punch to the face.

          “Do you even know how to surfboard?” Levi asked while getting dressed. He wasn't even sure why he was asking. Why did it matter to him? He was sort of curious and wanted to know if the other had a death wish.

          “A bit. But not really.”

          Suicidal bastard. “Don't you dare go alone again.”

          “Sorry!” Eren rushed to apologize, a bit embarrassed. But at the same time he didn't regret it because now he knew Levi's secret. Well... whatever his secret was. Eren couldn't stop himself from asking to confirm his thoughts, “So... are you a mermaid?”

          “Mer _man_ ,” Levi hissed angrily and Eren could practically feel his glare. Now he was even closer to getting punched. “I am not a maid, and you will remember that or I will chop your dick off and shove it up your ass.”

          “Sorry!”


	2. DVA

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hanji is eccentric, Mikasa is sleepy and Levi realizes Eren is hot and maybe he isn't so against having him touch his tail.

It didn't take long before Levi finished drying himself off with his shirt, and got dressed. He didn't bother telling Eren he was done, simply started walking towards the house and preparing himself to deal with Hanji. Who would definitely ask questions that he would never be able to predict because Hanji was crazy.

          Eren took a couple seconds to catch up with him, as he had been too distracted trying to find out how to ask more questions without having Levi complete his threat. Because he liked his dick the way it was.

          As they casually walk up the pathway Levi had been running down not ten minutes ago, Eren found himself overwhelmed by the silence. He wasn't sure if it was awkward because of the situation or because he was making it awkward. He felt an itch in his throat to say something – anything at all, but he had no idea what he could possibly say to Levi without being threatened again.

          The silence ended (fortunately?) when they arrived at the house because they were instantly hit by hurricane Hanji. She had been waiting at the backdoor, obviously having seen them coming and went downstairs to greet them at the door.

          The moment she was close enough, she started bobbing up and down on her heels in excitement, eyes wide and crazy.

          Levi, not in a mood to deal with Hanji, just glared and turned to Eren. “Your job,” he stated simply, then shoved her away from the door and went to make himself a new cup of hot tea. He was also tempted to drown himself in wine to avoid dealing with anyone ever again.

          Eren glared at Levi as he walked away. Sure - he had agreed to this but honestly he was still afraid of the eccentric woman. He sighed in frustration, but prepared himself to tackle the problem that was Hanji.

          “What happened?”

          “I fell off my board, almost drowned and Levi saved me.”

          “Where do you go?”

          “We got out at a different part of the beach because Levi deemed it 'cleaner',” Eren stated, proud of his excuse. Especially since Hanji accepted it instantly.

          “Did Levi give you mouth to mouth?”

          “No!”

          “Did you have some sort of prophetic vision before you almost died?”

          “What the fuck? No!”

          And so on.

          The questions were weird, but easy to answer since a lot of them were outrageous and simple to deny. There was only one question that had Eren pausing.

          “What about the surfboard?”

          Eren's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. Last he had checked, the board hadn't been broken when he had crashed. “What about it?” He questioned.

          “You left it in the water!”

          “We did?” Eren asked, turning around and then noticing his board bob up and down a bit further out into the sea. “I guess I forgot about it,” He mused.

          Eren couldn't find the energy in him to go and retrieve it, and resigned himself to buying another. He also didn't want to admit that he was a bit afraid of the water currently, as he doubted Levi would save him for a second time. He'd worry about going back in later. Although Eren guessed that he would be back in the water by noon.

          Apparently Hanji was satisfied with her questions because she finally stopped her interrogation then. Eren had never felt so relieved in his life. Instead, Hanji offered, “I can get your board if you want!”

          Eren froze in surprise. Maybe he had formed a... bad? opinion of Hanji, because he had honestly not been expecting that. He decided to reform his opinion because (although scary) she seemed to mean well. And although crazy, she didn't seem murderer crazy.

          “Yeah, thanks,” Eren responded gratefully, smiling.

          He watched as Hanji cheered (why was she cheering? Who knows) and started running towards the surfboard. He didn't question why she was going fully dressed and was so excited, and left her to her devices. If she wanted to do something, it wasn't up to him to stop her.

          Eren didn't waste any time once she was gone to start searching for Levi. It only took him opening a couple doors and a couple minutes to find him in the kitchen, looking pissed off and glaring at a kettle. He paused for a moment, feeling bad for the kettle who didn't deserve the death look it was receiving. Then, he felt bad for himself when the death look turned towards him.

          He lost his previous confidence at the look, but that didn't stop him from asking his question. “When do I get to touch your tail?”

          Levi's death glare seemed to intensify as he hissed, “Don't talk about it so casually and publicly.” He then poured the hot water into a cup with a tea bag and stalked over to a chair before purposely sitting facing away from Eren.

          Levi was sure Eren wouldn't back down and was expecting to deal with more questioning because he knew the brat was persistent. That was why he was surprised when he didn't hear anything, and he turned back in slight confusion even if he was in a shitty mood.

          Ahh, they were no longer alone. Mikasa had obviously woken up as she slumped into the kitchen. At least the brat was smarter than he gave him credit for. He expected Eren to jump to greet her, as enthusiastically as Levi saw he did everything else in his life.

          He was surprised when Eren didn't as she slowly slid into the kitchen. Her hair and clothes were in a mess, and she shuffled over to the closest chair before sinking into it, falling forwards onto the table and closing her eyes. He had never seen her so dishevelled, but he understood her as nothing was worse a tired, morning Levi.

          Levi was staring in confusion as Eren simply turned away and started fiddling with some of the kitchen drawers and cabinets. Levi couldn't find the energy in him to bitch about, and resigned himself to having to dedicate a weekend to cleaning and organizing the house when everyone left since he couldn't ban them from touching everything. It was only saturday morning and he wasn't sure if he could manage dealing with his guests until sunday night.

          It was only when Eren set down a mug of coffee in front of his sister, that it hit Levi what was going on and he realized how close they were. Eren knew what she was like in the mornings, knew how to deal with her because he had obviously been there for her every morning since she was orphaned. Levi felt the guilt smack him in the face, and he felt regret well up at wishing that he could get rid of everyone. He had to stay focused, to remember what this trip was for even if things had derailed. Eren was here because Mikasa wanted him to be and Levi realized he had to respect that.

          Mikasa slowly raised herself from her slumped position, grasping the cup and bringing it close to her face. Levi was sure it was burning hot, but Mikasa took a long sip before letting out a sigh. Levi wasn't one to talk though; he refused to drink tea ten minutes after boiling because it wasn't hot anymore. He then remembered he had forgotten about his tea and took another large gulp.

          When he looked back up, he realized Mikasa was looking at him.

          “Morning.”

          “Morning.”

          And that was their only exchange before they returned to their own drinks. Both were aware as Eren looked back and forth in confusion, and eventually they turned to give him their attention. Eren continued to stare.

          Eventually, Mikasa snapped and asked, “What?”

          “Nothing,” Eren replied, with a small smile which grew when they both rolled their eyes at him. Things were going better than Eren had honestly expected them to go.

          Hanji arrived a couple minutes later, her clothing completely soaked as she carried Eren's board into the kitchen. Within seconds, Levi had to abandon his tea (again) and kick her ass into a shower while shouting and muttering insults and promising to never bring her back. He spent the next couple minutes mopping up the water that Hanji had managed to get everywhere, utterly pissed off.

          Eren guessed he should wait until later to ask again.

 

-

 

It was only an hour later that Levi had another realization. Apparently, while saving Eren from drowning Levi had been too distracted. Or simply too worried because of his secret being revealed.

          Because now Eren, Mikasa and Hanji were all at the beach – tanning and swimming. Levi had wandered over, not approaching the water and staying closer to the house. But all this meant that they were in swimsuits. Which meant Eren was in a swimsuit.

          And now Levi felt like the socially inept teenager he used to be. Who he had gone to pools to ogle men while discovering his sexuality instead of doing anything about it and writing dramatic poetry about his struggle.

          This was when Levi realized Eren Jaeger was a hot piece of ass and he was having trouble suppressing thoughts about maybe tripping falling on his dick accidentally. He watched, hypnotized, as Eren ran out of the sea towards Mikasa who was hiding under an umbrella with a book. He was sure the scene was from some sort of movie. Water droplets were flying everywhere due to the organized chaos of Eren's hair and water was trailing down over his delicious sun-kissed abs, going where Levi wanted to be. He was sure Eren's eyes were bright and happy and he hated how far he was, unable to see the details.

          It was when Eren noticed Levi and started exaggeratedly waving that Levi realized he had been staring. And realized what he had been thinking. Embarrassed but glad Eren couldn't see his blush from the distance, he raised a hand in acknowledgement and waved slightly. Levi hoped that maybe he could just forget what he just saw and thought, and continue his life as normal.

          Although now he secretly wasn't so against having the boy touch his tail. And he also realized he should stop calling him a kid. (That didn't mean he was going to stop).

          He ignored Hanji's knowing looks as he turned back and retreated to the security that was his beach house.

 

-

 

Levi knew they didn't have that much time since they were only at the beach for the weekend. He felt compelled to finish his end of the deal before the weekend was over, so he could go home and forget this weekend. He'd go his way, and Eren would go his own and sometimes they'd see each other due to Mikasa but he wouldn't have to deal with questions about being a merman.

          At least, that was what Levi told himself was the reason for him being the one who approached Eren, not the other way around. He cornered Eren alone in the kitchen while he had been making sandwiches for the others down at the beach.

          Levi was eternally grateful that he was wearing a shirt because he wasn't sure if he had the willpower to not stare.          

          “Get a bucket of sea water and put it in my room.” Levi told him, nervous but needing to keep his promise. He had never been close to anyone who knew what he was, preferring his lone lifestyle (which Hanji was always destroying) and he was honestly a bit scared and he would never even think about admitting it. He just needed to get over with this quickly, like pulling off a band-aid.

          “What?” Eren spluttered, utterly confused and surprised by Levi since he hadn't noticed him. The jar of mayonaise he was holding fell from his hands and he fumbled with it, but caught it before it crashed. Levi was glad because he would've made him clean the entire kitchen for if it had broken and gotten glass everywhere.

          “I need sea water to transform.”

          “Oh... oh!” Eren replied, still confused but slowly catching up to what was going on. “So we can do it now?”

          Levi ignored the implication behind Eren's words, guessing he hadn't even noticed, as he complimented the timing. “Eh... I guess we should do it tonight once the other shits go to sleep.”

          Eren perked up at this, his eyes widened in excitement as Levi tried to avoid looking directly into them. Stupid shitty brats and their bright eyes and hopes and dreams. He watched, pretending to be disinterested but actually amused as Eren ditched the sandwiches he was making and instead started running towards the beach.

          As Levi had expected, he was back a few seconds later. He was out of breath and leaning against the entrance to the kitchen, but asked quickly, “Where can I find a bucket?”

          “Garage. The door's the green one by the main entrance.” Levi responded, already starting to make what would hopefully be his first full cup of tea for the day since everyone was already distracted and would hopefully leave him alone for a bit.

          Eren was gone again in seconds and Levi heard multiple doors slamming. Eventually, he watched as Eren ran to the beach with a bucket from the window in the kitchen. He wondered what excuse he was planning on telling Hanji and Mikasa, but didn't worry too much about it. The brat didn't seem that stupid.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I promise more mermaid!Levi in the next chapter and tail touching!
> 
> p.s. I'll be at Fan Expo (Toronto) on August 29th if anyone else is going (cosplaying ereri with a friend) :333
> 
> p.s.#2 does anyone get my chapter titles?


	3. TRI

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eren finally touches the tail and Levi acts like a scared cat most of the time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was harder to write than I expected, which was probably why I left out the tail touching in the previous chapter and just wrote more of Levi ogling Eren.

Eren was excited. He had given Mikasa and Hanji some bullshit excuse about Levi making him clean and needing ocean water to do so. He was too excited to really care if they bought it as long as they left him alone. It was obvious that neither of them believed him, but they both seemed too lazy to question him further. He took this to his advantage and quickly ran back to the house with the bucket. He carefully set it in Levi's room, making sure not to spill any because he was sure Levi would kill him then.

          When he returned to the kitchen he found Levi was gone. His cup of tea had also disappeared and Eren assumed he had gone somewhere to finish it. Probably somewhere where he wouldn't be disturbed by shitty brats. He did feel slightly guilty but he found it easy to ignore.

          Eren returned to making food for the trio at the beach, already bored of the repetitive actions needed to make multiple sandwiches. Despite his excitement, he was internally freaking the hell out and utterly confused.

          First he found out Mikasa had an uncle, which was hard enough to process. Then Mikasa wanted him to go to said uncle's cottage. And after almost drowning, he was saved by Mikasa's intimidating uncle who was apparently a merman. He knew he was obligated to keep it a secret from anyone, but he was struggling. Since Mikasa's adoption, they had told eachother everything.

          Was Mikasa a mermaid? He doubted it – and hoped not because that would mean she hadn't been as honest as he liked to believe.

          The sandwiches were finished quickly and he returned to the beach. Hanji cheered at his arrival, Mikasa smiled, and they all ate. All Eren really wanted to do was to find Levi, ask him questions and touch his tail. He knew he had been staring earlier, but he didn't think it was unjustified. The scales had been fascinating, entrancing him exactly like the man they belonged to.

          The day passed slowly.

          Eren spent most of the time waiting for it to be late enough, unable to sit still. He had never been very patient and he spent most of the day running around in the water with Hanji to try and distract himself. He knew Mikasa was eyeing him in confusion, but she seemed too comfortable in the sun to come down and interrogate him.

          Eren had celebrated when they left the beach but reality hit him as they got back. It was only six and he still had to wait for the others to go to sleep. The rest of the day passed even slower as he didn't even have anything to do. Mikasa yelled at him for moping around, and questioned him about it. Eren didn't answer and quickly escaped. Every once in a while, he'd see Hanji run by excited as always but he never bothered to ask what she was doing. He liked his sanity where it was, even if the boredom was starting to drive him crazy.

          Levi was nowhere to be seen. Eren hadn't properly looked for him, but he also hadn't seen him in any of his typical spots. He got a bit concerned, wondering if he had managed to offend him. Well, offend him any worse. Maybe Levi would come up with some excuse to not have to complete his end of the deal.

          He was gone until Hanji called everyone for dinner. It had only been two hours since they got back from the beach and Eren felt like it had been two days, yet there was still more waiting left.

          Levi took one look at the monstrosity that Hanji had created, and started calling the nearest pizza place before Mikasa and Eren even got to see it. After ordering two large plain pizzas, Levi disappeared again. He only came back when the doorbell rang – he quickly answered it and payed before dumping the edible food on the kitchen table.

          Dinner was awkward.

 

-

 

Levi knew he was avoiding Eren. Eren probably knew Levi was avoiding him.

          Levi liked denying it, liked lying to himself. He realized he had been doing that a lot recently. Denying any feelings – actually, denying anything to do with Eren. The stupid brat kept making him second guess himself and it was starting to piss him off. Levi considered drowning him.

          Was that why he was avoiding him? Or was it because he was nervous – even if he cringed to admit it? Probably. Maybe he had also been lying when he insisted that he didn't care about the mersociety, didn't care about the things that came with being intimate. He could feel himself flush whenever he thought of Eren stroking his tail – which might be partially due to his lack of clothing in Levi's head whenever he thought about it.

          He cursed his imagination.

          All Levi hoped was that either Eren wouldn't connect the dots or call him out on it. Because he did not want to deal with that. As it got closer to the night, he could feel his nerves getting worse. He had to admit – now that he was trying to stop lying to himself – that he felt excitement building up as well. He couldn't remember the last time someone had touched his tail, despite how calming he knew it was supposed to be.

Maybe that was why he was a crabby bastard.

          Eventually, all the self questioning came to an end with a knock on the door. It had just barely gotten dark and Levi honestly wasn't surprised that Eren came so quickly. The brat had basically been vibrating with excitement since that morning. Eren looked like he was ready to explode when Levi opened the door.

          Levi glared at him, unimpressed by the excitement. He let out a long sigh before stepping back and gesturing for Eren to enter, resigning himself to his fate dramatically. He had already set up a mat on the ground beside the bucket while avoiding Eren and headed towards it instead of delaying it further. He tried to ignore how Eren was hopping up and down in excitement like a kid in a candy shop.

          “Calm down before you shit your pants,” he snapped, the boy's excitement not helping his nerves. Eren didn't look any calmer, but he did stop shaking so Levi decided to take what he could get. In all honesty, he understood the kid's excitement of seeing something new. Even if it had been a while since he had experienced such thrill.

          He carefully started taking off his shirt, not wanting it to get twisted up in his tail. “I'm going to need to strip, and I'd prefer to keep some of my privacy,” he hinted pointedly after he folded his shirt and set it down on a table. He ignored the way Eren's eyes were glued to his chest and how they followed his hands as he started undoing off his belt. He was glad when Eren quickly turned away in embarrassment. He also ignored the blush on Eren's face. He was already too nervous about this, if he started over-thinking things it would just end horribly.

          Levi quickly finished stripping, his need to quickly get this over with this becoming stronger. Although he knew Eren wouldn't be satisfied with just a few pats on his tail. He carefully settled himself down on the mat, before placing a hand into the bucket.

          He winced at the feeling of his skin and bones stretching, a small pained gasp escaping him. He squeezed his eyes shut and clenched his hands as he endured the feeling of his feet connecting to become one and then scales forming. The worst pain was when slits opened up on his neck where his gills would work if he was actually underwater because it felt like his neck was being cut open. He wondered, idly as he waited for the pain to pass, if the pattern of black, grey and white of his tail was the same each time or it changed. He had never paid much attention to it.

          When his tail was complete he glanced up at Eren. Of course, the brat was watching in absolute fascination even though Levi hadn't given him permission to turn back. He assumed the boy had looked over sometime when he started making pained noises, but it didn't ease his glare.

          Unfortunately, his glare still did nothing to stop Eren from slowly approaching him. He watched cautiously as Eren made his way over and sat down, legs crossed, beside his new tail. Levi appreciated how he paused then and waited instead of instantly rubbing his filthy hands over his tail. He realized should have made Eren wash his hands earlier, but now he was too lazy and anxious to make him.

          Levi gave him a curt nod, and then watched as hesitant hands slowly started lightly touching his tail. It didn't really feel like anything, even when he started running his hands up and down.

          Eren eventually gained more confidence when Levi didn't voice his protest and started applying more pressure. As he explored the length of Levi's tail, he found himself focusing on certain scales. At first, it was the darker ones and he tried rubbing them to see if they felt any different (they didn't). Then, his focus turned to the white ones and he payed them the same attention.

          It wasn't until he returned to running his hands over the entire length again, interested by the odd bumpy feeling, that he heard a pleased gasp. Glancing up in confusion, Eren saw Levi in what had to be the most relaxed position he had ever seen the man in. He had laid down completely at some point, face at ease and the tips of his fingers barely left in the water.

          Eren supposed that what he was doing was equal to a massage on a normal person. He resumed his actions, assuming there was no harm in it – especially if both of them were enjoying it. Eren was fascinated by the scales, spending extended periods of time studying how they were connected to the skin underneath and just feeling the smooth texture. He was honestly a bit jealous, overcome with the desire to explore the sea without anything to block him. He tried to imagine swimming in the water and breathing normally, to imagine being free.

          It suddenly hit him that he had been planning on asking Levi all his question, but the man seemed so peaceful he couldn't find it in himself to disturb him.

          Levi was utterly surprised with how calm he was. He hadn't even noticed when his eyes had fluttered shut, when he had leaned back, and when all the tension escape his body. The kid seemed to know the perfect places to apply pressure, to areas overused when swimming, that Levi had never even thought about massaging.

          He instantly regretted not allowing anyone near him, including his own kind, because he had been missing out on this. That was probably what made this intimate. To be at complete ease with someone was dangerous when they were always at risk of attack, and it took an immense amount of trust. Despite the current less dangerous circumstances, Levi also realized how he was trusting Eren right now. To simply touch his tail, to not rip one of his scales off.

          Last time he had accidentally done so on a rock was a blur. He remembered crying, lots of blood, and remaining hidden in a cave for a long time. When the pain had finally passed, he had returned home to find out he had been gone for a week. His boss hadn't been happy, and somehow he had managed to keep his job. His stupid job which he still detested, even if he needed it. He had an inheritance left from his absent father that was paying for the beach house, but knew he eventually it would run out. So, he was stuck working a desk job which didn't interest him and living for the weekend. He had honestly been glad when his father had kicked the bucket, leaving him with enough money to be comfortable for a while. It also left him comfortable as he was no longer paranoid of everyone he met and finally started trusting people. That was around the time he met Hanji, and he wondered what would've happened if Hanji had come into his life earlier.

          Levi couldn't even remember the last time he had thought about his father or his past, and was suddenly hit with a weird feeling. It wasn't necessary sadness or happiness, but it was a certain kind of peace. Maybe he had finally moved on.

          Now convinced that Eren had magic fingers, he let himself enjoy the massage he was receiving. He made sure to keep the tips of his fingers in the bucket, but slowly loosened the rest of his body as a gasp escaped him at the perfect feeling.

          A burning feeling was building up in him which made him feel like he was soaking in a hot bath. There was nothing sexual about it, especially since he doubted that he could feel anything sexual while he didn't have a dick. That was a flaw to merpeople, because to have any children the woman would have to remain human for nine months before she could give birth and return home.

          Levi didn't realize he had fallen asleep until he was being shaken awake. His eyes instantly snapped open and he noticed his hand had slipped from the bucket. He stared at in shock, before glancing at his legs (how sweet the brat had covered his crotch) and back at the bucket. He hadn't woken up during the transformation back which something that was usually even more painful than the first transformation.

          After processing this new information, he came back to reality and looked at Eren who was kneeling beside him.

          He met Eren's bright eyes, and felt the drowning sensation overtake him again. Eren was smiling brightly, and before Levi even noticed it he was smiling back. When was the last time he smiled? Eren's smile simply grew wider at this, and Levi found himself start dreading the end of the weekend.


	4. CETRI

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hanji interrupts tail touching, the raven siblings have a heart to heart and the weekend ends and Levi feels like shit

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah... I kind of lost all inspiration when school started. (Is it sad I had to reread my own fic to remember where things are? short summary: levi saves eren from drowning, eren oggles levi, eren gets to touch levis tail, eren and levi are super gay but are shy nerds who are now staring at eachother. Their weekend together, with hanji and mikasa, is almost over~~~) I want to thank everyone for the comments they left to kick my ass into gear (especially Emmy and Precious_Coattails because I kind of gave up on this before they comented) and for my friend and cosplay partner the nerd who promised to draw me fanart if I wrote another chapter.....   
> This fic will probably be around 5 chapters cause longer is too much dedication and I have so many other ideas...

Levi cursed Eren's eyes, trying to escape them as he resisted the urge to kiss the kid. He repeated the word “kid” over and over in his head. He tried to focus on Mikasa; he wouldn't be a very good uncle if he spent the weekend they were supposed to be bonding sucking face with her brother. But this confirmed it - it was his fish self that was inlove with the bright blue and green, because that was the only time he felt so lost, drowned in them.

           All of this bonding had been a bad idea. He didn't even know what he had been thinking. He should have expected the travesty - that someone would find out his secret – would happen. Especially Hanji destroying his beach house. He should have just taken Mikasa out for coffee or something but guilt was powerful. 

           Eventually Levi realized that he and Eren were just smiling at each other like idiots. He was left not knowing what to do – should he kick him out now? Would that be weird since they both were just smiling? It wasn't like Eren was going to touch his tail anymore since his hand had slipped and he didn't feel like dealing with the shift again.

           He felt compelled to tell Eren he was grateful for his first painless transformation back but he couldn't get the words out. It wasn't like the brat had done it on purpose right? It had simply been a coincidence. A pleasant coincidence that Levi wanted to happen again and again and again. But he didn't know how to deal with actually wanting physical contact from someone, because this was the first time he could remember wanting so. To want someone to be close with.

           It hit Levi that maybe he was a bit pathetic.

           Eren, on the other hand, was not capable of proper thought. He was sure his brain and heart were exploding just from the sight of Levi smiling. Because it was the most adorable thing he had ever seen in his entire life and he had worked at an animal shelter. He was hit with the sudden urge to see it again and again.

           He also realized that they had been just smiling at each other for an unreasonable amount of time and glanced away before starting to get up. “Thanks,” Eren muttered, glancing around embarrassed and mourned the smile that fell off Levi's face at his movement. He had probably gone too far with his end of the deal, but Levi had seemed so relaxed he couldn't make himself stop until the tail started reverting into legs. He had grabbed a blanket as fast as possible to cover Levi's.... body.

           Honestly, both of them were slightly relieved when someone started pounding on the door. It wasn't hard to figure out who it was before Hanji's shrill voice rang through, calling their names. 

           The embarrassment, however, overpowered any positive feelings as Hanji teased, “What are you guys doing?” Her pounds getting louder and louder as she got less and less patient.

           Levi lurched up, worried for the quality of his doors. Hanji was unusually strong and he knew if she really wanted she could cause damage to the beautiful doors he painstakingly. He barely managed to remember to grab the towel to preserve his decency in front of Eren even if he wasn't sure that he had any.

           Ignoring how wide Eren's eyes went, including the blush that covered his entire face down to his neck, Levi stalked over to his closet and pulled some sweatpants on before storming to the door, whipping it open. Unsurprisingly, Hanji fell in and Levi stepped aside to let her crash to the ground.

           Karma. Levi allowed himself a moment to feel good.

           Hanji, unsurprisingly, didn't care for the fall as she whipped her head around to look at both of them. It only struck Levi when Mikasa entered the room, obviously confused, how bad their situation looked.

           Eren was sitting in the middle of the room, eyes wide and glazed over, his face red and Levi's pants were barely on his hips from his rush. Levi cursed the kid over and over in his head, repeatedly until it made him feel better about everything because he wasn't doing anything to help. He glanced at Mikasa, slightly nervous, but was glad to see she remained as emotionless as ever.

           Levi was suddenly reminded of how many emotions he had been feeling lately. Reminded of how he used to be the same as Mikasa. He cursed Eren again, adding in some crude words which didn't help as much this time.

           Mikasa simply rolled her eyes, sighed, and stepped around Hanji before pulling Eren up to his feet. Eren instantly started babbling, excuses tumbling out as she dragged him from the room, his eyes swinging back to meet Levi's for a second before he was gone.

           Levi sighed, rubbing his temples as Hanji exploded into another set of questions. He shoved her out roughly, promised to skin her hide if she broke his door, and flopped onto his bed. Levi wasn't surprised when he fell asleep seconds later, two shifts in one day was a bit much and his legs ached.

-

The next morning went smoothly. Levi managed to finish an entire cup of his tea undisturbed, no one risked drowning and Hanji was unusually calm. He had managed to shove a cup of tea in her hands when she started babbling and was surprised that it worked. He made a mental note to always have a spare cup on him. He regretted not figuring it out earlier, but decided that the future would be beautiful from then on.

           Mikasa and Eren had showed up together, saving Levi from the tension that Hanji was sure to create if she started interrogating him. It was practically her job at that point. It was a nice, bright eleven and Levi actually felt at ease. He watched as Eren made Mikasa's coffee, setting it down and sitting beside her. He had been slightly worried about Eren last night, although exhausted, and was glad to see things were fine.

           It was only a couple sips into his second cup of tea that Levi reminded them, “we'll be leaving at five to make it back on time.” Eren and Hanji burst up together instantly at the news, rushing to get down to beach and make the best of their time left. They both yelled excitedly at each other through the house as they got ready in their respective rooms before racing down to the beach.

           Eren remembered being afraid of the eccentric woman.

           Levi and Mikasa spent the rest of the day, enjoying their caffeinated beverages and watching their own idiots fuck around at the beach through the porch window. It was calming, enjoyable even and Levi considered inviting Mikasa back. Despite all his negative thoughts the whole weekend, it didn't sound or look that bad as he reflected back. Except for Eren discovering his secret, but it was either that or watch the boy drown and die.

           “What are your parents like?” Mikasa questioned, not looking up from her cup after Levi suggested they moved out onto the porch to enjoy the sun. Levi wasn't surprised they both had the same matter of fact way of jumping to important questions. Was it their childhood or genes that lead to this similarity?

           “Dead or gone,” Levi simply stated at first, before he felt slightly guilty at his crude words. The girl had probably already known that. He rubbed his face, tired already of thinking of his father. “Mom was a tourist, stayed with my dad for a while when she got pregnant. Your... grandfather? I think. Anyways, ended up leaving him afterwords and disappearing. He blamed me and he was a dick, I was relieved when he died.”

           Mikasa nodded, glancing up with a softer expression for a second before looking back down. Levi felt bad for lying even if it was necessary. Eren was one person too many already. He didn't tell her that the only reason his mother had stayed because that was the only way she would be able to carry him to full term as she was a mermaid and that his father had been a mafia boss. It wasn't a very nice truth. He wondered, idly, if he'd ever find his own mother.

           “You?” Levi found himself questioning, all of a sudden curious about the older half-sister he had met one or twice when he was five who lived with her own mother, who eventually had the girl. He felt weird finding out about his sister a month ago before he even found out about Mikasa's existence. It was hard to deal with, not feeling especially sad since he never really knew her, but he had felt strong unknown emotions.

           “Don't remember much,” she admitted, swirling her cup as she looked up at Levi. Her eyes lacked any emotion, but it was more forced and unlike her usual calm. Levi didn't move, knowing already that they weren't both very tactile with their feelings, but he felt an unknown urge to. “They were caring, ended up getting murdered. Eren saved me and then his parents adopted me.”

           Levi could tell there was a longer story behind that, but he supposed his own response had been the same. Maybe one day they'd be able to be truthful to each other. Levi admitted to himself how much he truly wanted that.

           He wanted to ask how Mikasa felt about him – was she mad? Or even happy? Did meeting him mean anything to her? He opened his mouth, but no sound came out. He shut it instantly, scowling at himself for being a coward. He wondered, not for the first time that weekend, when he had gone soft. 

           First Eren and now Mikasa. Next thing he knew he'd be nice to Hanji and the world would explode. He was also slowly preparing himself for the Erwin inquisition when he got back. Hanji would hint things to him and leave, letting Erwin ring out any details.

           Erwin was the only other merperson that he truly knew. He had seen some sometimes, said hi, and moved on. But the moment Erwin had seen him, he had started up a conversation and somehow managed to slither into his life. He needed to find a way to get him and his bushy eyebrows off his case.

 

-

           At four, Mikasa had slipped away to go yell and Hanji and Eren to pack their backs. An hour later, they were all in the car and Levi felt oddly sad, sitting behind the wheel of the car. Eren was sitting beside him, Hanji having given him an evil grin as she insisted he took that spot. Levi was glad because it meant he could drown Hanji's voice out with the radio.

           The ride passed quickly, and Eren actually proved to be a good driving companion. He didn't excessively talk like he usually did, instead commenting on things he saw sometimes and turning around to have short conversations with Mikasa and Hanji. Levi found his interest in Eren growing, knowing it was a bad time because they would be seperated soon. Levi chided himself for sounding so childish.

           Infact, he had even managed to make Levi laugh at one point when he pointed a woman walking out. Hanji had gone hysteric at the sound of Levi's laugh, and he had been forced to pull aside for a pit stop. He had pulled Hanji out, let her scream for a while and hug him and then hug Eren. She threw a hug in for Mikasa so she wouldn't feel left out until they finally were back in the car.

           Before Levi knew what was happening Mikasa and Eren were gone, Hanji slipping into the front seat to annoy Levi. She seemed to loose any spark at the slightly sad look on Levi's face, leaving him alone as she knew it was a bad time to push. 

           Although she was already secretly planning as she whipped her phone out.

           Levi couldn't bring himself to care. He was trying to accept how he was going to be forced into going to work the next day, away from Eren and Mikasa and hell even Hanji. He found himself already missing the brightness Eren seemed to always shine not only in his eyes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I would like to thank teavanna for helping me write this. please sponser me and send me tons of flavoured white tea. oh and rdio too for music. please give me free membership. ps: i promise the next chapter won't take so long. i feel oddly inspired to write again. 
> 
> I promise we'll have actual romantic feelings and confessions in the next chapter~~~


	5. PET

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Levi mopes and Eren gets guts.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yooo my internet isn't working so you're all in my debt for coming to school during my spare to update......... and now i must refresh and refresh until I get past the internet blocks ;D

Life moved on. Unfortunately. 

Levi tried, as filled out forms and filed them mechanically as always, to block out bright green and blue eyes. To stay focused on the dreary life he led one week days. It already felt harder than usual. He told his brain to get over itself.

It was at three in the morning, when Levi spent more time staring at his ceiling and arguing with his brain to fall asleep than actually sleeping, that his phone started to ring. He wasn't sure what really possessed him to answer it, especially since the number was unknown. Probably because of how empty and bored Levi always felt this late into the night.

“Hi?”

“Hi.”

There was a pause. It sent an awkward feeling through Levi, and he considered hanging up.

“Who is-”

“It's Eren.”

Another pause. This time spent with less awkwardness and more of Levi freaking out. He wasn't surprised that Hanji had given away his number, more surprised that Eren had actually manned up enough to use the information. Especially surprised the kid hadn't merely texted him, had somehow got enough guts to properly call him. He allowed himself a small smile in the darkness.

“Eren,” he stated, before his brain could stop him, telling himself that his emotion didn't leak in through the single word. It was too late for his usual self control.

“Yeah,” Eren replied, voice light as if he was smiling; he had figured Levi out. Levi considered murder but Eren managed to send a thrill of butterflies through his chest, making it hard to do anything but smile. Including breathing, because all of a sudden it felt like he wasn't getting enough air.

This time the pause was light and actually enjoyable, simply listening to each other breathe. It would be a lie to say Levi wasn't curious as to why the kid had called, but he wasn't going to press. He would let things flow smoothly instead of ordering him to speak.

“I-” Eren stuttered, trying to force himself to admit why he had called. “How are you?” he questioned instead, voice tight with nerves, as he cursed himself internally for his own failure.

“Alright.”

“Oh.”

This time Levi felt slight nerves creeping up onto him from Eren through the phone and he started to grow slightly worried about Eren had to say. Did he accidentally tell someone about what Levi was... or a group of people? Simply the thought sent a spike of worry through him, his hand clenching around the phone.

He listened as Eren took a deep breath, preparing himself, before the dam broke and words tumbled out of Eren's mouth, one after an other, with no stop.

“I- I know that we barely know each other and like you probably only let me come along because of Mikasa – she's kind of a mother hen, you know always taking care of me since I met her and it's probably some sort of obligation she feels to me for saving her but that's another story and yeah but you sort of are like maybe really hot? And I know it's sort of weird and stuff but I might have a slight crush on you, just so you know.” Eren managed to say in one long stream of words, panting at the end.

Levi barely understood half of what he said as his words melded into one jumble, but the action was so like Eren it made him feel warm. He barely stopped himself from laughing, knowing it would give Eren the wrong opinion, but it was so adorable he couldn't handle it.

Then it hit him that he was obligated to say something, but his mind was drawing a blank as he tried to deal with the information he had just learned.

One day, Levi knew he would thank Eren for not pressuring him into responding. No, instead he had given Levi time where he focused on Eren's calm breathing (although he doubted Eren was calm himself) and tried to process how he even felt.

It would be a lie to say he didn't feel the same and he knew it. He knew it, knew how Eren made him feel all bubbly and happy in a way he had never felt since the first time he had freely gone swimming. (Not the first time he was a mermaid; that had been a traumatic experience, luckily absent of any people. The rest of that vacation had sucked, however.) He found himself wanting to spend every weekend with Eren at the beach house, having his tail caressed lovingly.

He knew he would love it but he also knew the thought terrified him. The closest person he knew was Erwin (not including his father – which he never did) and that was because he had been the one to explain everything to him. He still couldn't say that he trusted him fully, especially not physically.

He wasn't even sure if he would be able to handle a relationship, handle caring about someone else's feelings. Caring about Eren's feelings sounded even scarier, especially with the risk of messing up. If he somehow accidentally hurt Eren because he knew he sucked at people, he doubted he would be able to live with himself for it.

Of course, he had thought about it. But he had never in a million dreams considered confessing to Eren, and especially not considered Eren confessing to him. He barely believed it currently even if he could hear Eren's breathing starting to go faster and faster, small breaks as panic probably overtook him.

It was the concern he felt listening to Eren that validated Levi's emotions to himself. Levi knew he was a slight sociopath, rarely caring about others. Especially not to the depth he found himself carring about Eren. That was probably why Levi found himself whispering, almost not heard to Eren, “me too.”

The gasp of breath that came from the other end of the phone was what confirmed to Levi that Eren had heard him, and he listened as the breathing got faster. He bet Eren was freaking out, because he was too. At least they were on the same boat.

“Levi-” Eren said, rushed, his voice cracking slightly and Levi hated the pain it brought to his chest as he was hit with an overwhelming urge to comfort him. The stupid kid was making him soft.

“Levi,” Eren repeated again, voice soft before returning to slightly hysterical. “C-can I come over? I just- it's just I really want- I mean-” He started babbling again, and Levi found himself sighing as he smiled again.

“You don't have a car and it's 3am,” he stated, knowing that Eren would probably not care and run through shady alleys and get attacked and- Levi sighed, rubbing his forehead when he realized how much of a pain worrying about Eren was going to become. He would get annoyed at Eren's request but he felt exactly the same. “Mikasa's not home, is she?”

“Shes' asleep...” Eren trailed off, the hope in his voice already audible. The cheeky brat.

“I'll be over soon,” Levi replied curtly, hating the flutter that went through him at Eren's gasp of happiness. He hanged the phone up soon after, trying to ignore how happy Eren's voice had been as he got into his car. He didn't want to get into an accident because he was distracted, especially not at the risk of worrying Eren, or making him feel at blame.

Levi already knew where they lived, as he had driven them, and the drive wasn't long. He wasn't at all surprised to see the kid, standing at the open door without shoes on and bouncing up and down in excitement as he watched Levi's car pull into the driveway.

Levi knew he was smiling when he got out of the car but there was nothing he could do about it. He had just gotten out of the car, and locked it, to turn around to Eren standing right beside him with the biggest grin ever. His eyes and smile were wide and Levi felt his heart stutter as a small blush covered his cheeks.

They stood like that, for a bit, just standing in front of Eren's house and smiling at each other like the idiots that they were. Levi considered punching himself out of it, but despite his lack at social skills he knew that wouldn't come across well. He watched as Eren's hand twitched, slowly raising before he cupped Levi's face. Levi was leaning into the hold before he registered it.

Levi was sure his heart was going to explode from how loud it was beating in his ears. He was sure it was going to implode any moment and maybe take Eren with him in the blast. Sort of like a tragic lover's suicide. They'd probably make the news.

The warm, caring look in Eren's eyes was too much, illuminated by the porch lights into a warm orange. Levi found himself appreciating it when Eren's face got closer, as he had an excuse to let his eyes flutter shut.

Warm, chapped lips were pressed against his own and Levi felt sparks in his finger tips. It could have been from how hard he was clenching them, however, as he tried to deal with the feelings welling up in his chest that were threatening to spill over.

“Hi,” Eren greeted, eyes focused on Levi's face in absolute wonderment. Like he couldn't believe Levi was there. Levi didn't doubt his expression was the same.

“Hi,” he replied, hating how airy his voice sounded. But not really because he got to watch a faint blush take over Eren's face.

Levi was smiling like a lunatic and Eren was too, and there was another brief kiss that Levi wasn't sure who initiated before he was being dragged into the house by a firm grip on his wrist. The hold didn't leave as he shuffled out of his shoes before it was pulling him up to Eren's bedroom. 

There was no protest in him as Eren pulled him into his room which was covered in posters and was, in fact, a dreadful mess. He didn't even care, which was a bigger testament to how much he liked Eren than anything else he had said or thought yet, because he was too focused on the bright boy.

Eren hesitated, unsure of what he was doing as everything seemed to catch up with him. His face flushed an even darker red and Levi tried to pretend it didn't feel like someone had punched him in the gut. Eren was the most adorable thing he had ever seen and he was struggling to deal with it. He had suspicions Eren felt the same about him. Levi never imagined himself being okay with being considered cute, but if it came from Eren he couldn't really make himself care.

He watched as Eren's hands started twitching again, although not fully moving, in an adorable demonstration of his nerves that Levi wasn't sure he could handle anymore. He moved towards Eren, knowing they'd end up just standing and staring for hours unless one of them took initiative. Levi had just never imagined that he would be the one to do so.

Pulling Eren down into a soft kiss, less of a peck than previous ones, he managed to pull them both back to Eren's small bed. He loved how it was small, loved how as he shifted back and opened his mouth, Eren was forced to move close to him or fall off.

Eren made a small noise, a whine muffled by Levi's own mouth, that had Levi's entire body jolting for a second, freezing, and then pulling Eren closer to him. The only things he could hear were the thumping of his own heartbeat loud in his ears and small sounds Eren would make every once in a while. Levi cherished them, running his hands along Eren's back to get more.

Moments later they broke apart, breathing heavily as Levi buried his face in Eren's chest – partially to hide his own embarrassment and partially because he felt safe, surrounded by someone who he cared for. He wasn't sure what was so different about Eren, because he doubted he would feel the same with anyone else.

Eren curled around Levi, pulling him in close, wrapping his arms around the smaller man and pulling him as close as possible. As if he was afraid Levi would disappear, and Levi would have comforted him but he was exhausted. Exhausted from a day's work, from all the stress simply thinking about Eren was putting on his shoulders that was now gone.

It felt like he was flying.

He soon fell asleep, drifting off to the beautiful sound of Eren's heartbeat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay I haven't updated this in forever but I swear once school dies down a bit I will


End file.
